Black Hole
Black Hole was a German competitor robot that mainly fought in German Robot Wars. It won the first and only German championship after defeating Tsunami in the Grand Final, and represented Germany in the European Championship, which was also broadcast as part of [[Robot Wars Extreme: Series 2|the second series of Robot Wars Extreme]]. However, it lost in the second round of the European Championship to Belgian representative Philipper 2. Despite its successes, Black Hole did not return for the Third World Championship, broadcast as part of Series 7 of the UK Robot Wars, leaving Reaper NP2, I Bot One Beta and Ansgar 3 to fight for the chance to represent Germany. Design Black Hole was an invertible, reverse-wedge robot painted black and silver, and armed with two 4000rpm, four-toothed vertical spinning discs at the front. These silver and red discs were connected to the same axle, and were very powerful, being able to deal significant damage to its opponents as well as flipping them clean over. The robot was two-wheel driven, one of which was rotor-driven through a 12V electrometer, and its armour was made from steel and aluminium. Black Hole's discs proved especially potent throughout its appearances, especially towards Tsunami and Zeus, but could not work as effectively when the robot was inverted, as they were only designed to spin in one direction. Additionally, the robot could be easily flipped from the front and suffered from poor traction, with all three issues costing it in its European Championship battle against Philipper 2. Qualification In order to qualify for the German series of Robot Wars, all German competitors were required to attend an inspection run by Derek Foxwell in May 2002, to receive safety advice, and pointers with the build. A relatively complete Black Hole attended the event, and as German Robot Wars had less applicants than the number of spaces for competitors, Black Hole was automatically accepted for the German series. Robot History German Series Black Hole began its opening battle by attacking Absolut Krankhaft, teaming up with Tsunami to overturn the Dutch machine. Black Hole stayed away whilst Tsunami righted and then re-flipped Absolut Krankhaft. Black Hole then slammed into Absolut Krankhaft, causing damage to the rear. Absolut Krankhaft was then counted out and Black Hole dodged Tsunami until eventually cease was called. Black Hole next faced Hydrotec. Black Hole disabled Hydrotec’s flipper very early on, severely buckling it. Then, Black Hole turned its attention to the rest of the robot, causing sufficient damage to the internals to cause Hydrotec to break down. Hydrotec was counted out by the Refbot, and left to the House Robots. With this victory, Black Hole had made the Grand Final. In its first Grand Final battle, Black Hole came up against Son of Armageddon. Black Hole repeatedly attacked the front and sides of its opponent, destroying the supports of the flipping weapon on Son of Armageddon; however this attack stopped the discs from working. Black Hole pushed Son of Armageddon into Dead Metal, and the House Robot attacked Son of Armageddon until cease was called. The judges made the obvious decision to put Black Hole through to the Grand Final. In the Grand Final, Black Hole came up against Tsunami. Black Hole was turned over early on in the fight, and was on the back foot early on, being pressured by Tsunami, but it quickly recovered and caused damage, also suspending Tsunami on its wedge. Eventually, Black Hole was righted, and went on the offensive, securing several major blows and ripping armour panels off Tsunami, particularly on the side and back. The Jury was called on to make a decision, which went in Black Hole's favour, making it the first, and only, German Robot Wars champion. Black Hole also represented Germany in the European Championship, which was also broadcast as part of the [[Robot Wars Extreme: Series 2|second series of Robot Wars Extreme]]. It faced Italian representatives Zeus in the first round, immediately ripping off Zeus' flipper plate and rendering it unable to attack. Black Hole proceeded to flip Zeus over with its discs, before tearing shards of Zeus' armour off and leaving it stranded on its flipper. It pushed Zeus back onto its wheels, before throwing it around the arena several more times, eventually leaving Zeus on its back close to a CO2 jet. Zeus was attacked by Dead Metal and Mr. Psycho, counted out and pitted, allowing Black Hole to proceed to the second round. There, Black Hole faced Belgian representatives Philipper 2. It charged straight towards Philipper 2, flicking it up into the air and tearing a shard of its armour off, before both machines circled around each other. Black Hole slammed into Philipper 2's sides a few more times, leaving more gashes in its armour, before steering Philipper 2 into Shunt's CPZ after it pressed the pit release button. After tearing through its opponent's sides again, Black Hole was flipped over by Philipper 2, leaving its discs spinning the wrong way up and causing it to jolt upwards as it continued damaging Philipper 2's armour. In a sudden turn of events, Black Hole drove up Philipper 2's flipper, and was pushed straight into the pit, eliminating it from the European Championship. Results |} Blackhole pits.jpg|Black Hole in the pits during the German Series TeamBlackHole.jpg|Black Hole with its team Bhko.jpg|The second incarnation of Black Hole Luzifer.jpg|Black Hole's rebuild, after it was renamed. Luzifer_2.jpg|An early version of Luzifer. Luzifer.png|Luzifer before entering Robot Wars 2013 Wins/Losses *Wins: 5 *Losses: 1 Series Record Robot Wars Live Events Team Kaputo and Black Hole have had no involvement with the Robot Wars live events, although its spiritual successor, Luzifer competed in these events in 2013, 2015 and 2016. Outside Robot Wars After Black Hole's last appearance on TV, the robot was rebuilt completely as Black Hole 2, forgoing its offensive weaponry for a more Tornado-like approach. Black Hole 2 had few battles before it was sold to The Devil Crew, who would gradually rebuild the robot into Luzifer. Luzifer competed briefly on the live circuit in 2004. In 2012, it was rebuilt to have weaponry like Sewer Snake so it could compete in the RoboGames before being reactivated in 2012, and refurbished in 2013. Trivia *In 2016, Black Hole's new owners, The Devil Crew, applied for the [[Robot Wars: Series 8|new series of Robot Wars]] with their new heavyweight, Luzifer, the spiritual successor to Black Hole. Despite this, Team Kaputo and Black Hole have no relation to the new series, and Luzifer was not selected to compete. External Links *The Devil Crew website (written in German) Honours Category:German Robots Category:German Series competitors Category:International event only competitors in the UK Series Category:German Finalists Category:German Representatives Category:Robots with Vertical Flywheels Category:Invertible Robots Category:Robots with more Wins than Losses Category:Articles in need of images Category:Robots with astronomical names